Law Commons^™

On The Limits Of Supremacy: Medical Marijuana And The States' Overlooked Power To Legalize Federal Crime, Robert A. Mikos

Vanderbilt Law Review

Using the conflict over medical marijuana as a timely case study, this Article explores the overlooked and underappreciated power of states to legalize conduct Congress bans. Though Congress has banned marijuana outright, and though that ban has survived constitutional scrutiny, state laws legalizing medical use of marijuana not only survive careful preemption analysis, they constitute the de facto governing law in thirteen states. This Article argues that these state laws and most related regulations have not been and, more interestingly, cannot be preempted by Congress, given constraints imposed on Congress's preemption power by the anti-commandeering rule, properly understood. The Article …

The Circle Of Assent: How "Agreement" Can Save Mandatory Arbitration In Long-Term Care Contracts, Lauren Gaffney

Vanderbilt Law Review

On September 28, 1997, a resident at the Comanche Trail Nursing Center physically attacked his eighty-one-year-old roommate, Tranquilino Mendoza. As a result of the attack, Mr. Mendoza suffered a concussion and brain damage. His daughter claimed that her father was never the same after the attack and filed a lawsuit against the long-term care facility alleging negligence. In 2006, a jury awarded Mr. Mendoza $160 million.

Similarly, on April 26, 2003, a resident of the Heritage House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center allegedly attacked Carolyn Mason, another resident at the same facility. Mrs. Mason suffered a broken hip.6 Like Mr. Mendoza, …

You Get What You Pay For?: Rethinking U.S. Organ Procurement Policy In Light Of Foreign Models, J. Andrew Hughes

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The U.S. organ transplant system is in crisis due to the paucity of transplantable organs. Such a shortage exists because otherwise viable organs are too often buried along with the bodies in which they reside. Organs are wasted because the existing U.S. organ transplant system sets up barriers to organ donation--chiefly the legal presumption of unwillingness to donate ("voluntary donation') and the National Organ Transplant Act's ban on the transfer of organs for valuable consideration. This Note surveys the qualified successes of Austria, Belgium, Brazil, and France with their various "presumed consent" models of organ procurement. It also considers other …

Advertising Obesity: Can The U.S. Follow The Lead Of The Uk In Limiting Television Marketing Of Unhealthy Foods To Children?, David Darwin

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Childhood obesity has tripled in the U.S. since the 1970s, and television advertisement of unhealthy foods has been linked to the unhealthy eating habits of children. The United Kingdom, facing a similar problem, promulgated regulations in 2007 banning the advertisement of foods high in fat, sodium, and sugar during programming directed at children below age 16.

In the U.S., industry representatives, public policy advocates, and government officials are debating whether to rely on self-regulation efforts or to implement government-established guidelines. Industry representatives argue that government guidelines would do little to solve the childhood obesity problem and that the UK regulations …